THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 21, 1996 TAG: 9606190137
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: 64 lines
A PAIR OF TWO-SPORT stars, Churchland's Robert Davis and Norcom's Brandi Smith, have been selected by Currents as Athletes of the Year in Portsmouth high schools for 1995-96.
Davis is the city's premier high school golfer and an All-Southeastern District soccer player. Smith is a district and region champion in track and a standout basketball player. Both are 17-year-old June graduates.
Smith has accepted a track scholarship to Virginia Tech. Davis is pondering his college choices but likely will attend a junior college in Florida to play golf.
The 5-7, 152-pound Davis is the son of Robert ``Ton'' Davis, one of the all-time football greats at Wilson High School. The younger Davis never felt inclined to play football.
Born in Missouri, Davis began playing soccer as a youngster in Florida where his dad was a Navy chaplain.
``I started playing soccer when I was about 7 and I didn't take up golf until much later,'' said Robert. He was a four-year member of both the soccer and golf teams at Churchland.
``That will be the end of my soccer playing,'' added Davis. ``I will focus on golf now. My ambition is to become a teaching pro.''
He works part-time at Golf-O-Rama.
``I guess I practice five days every week,'' he said. ``One day I'll take out a 5-iron and work with it. Another day it will be a 7-iron or a 9-iron. And I'll just work with that particular club.
``My goal is to study business management in college and go from a junior college into a Division 1 school. And then work to get my teaching card in golf.''
Davis scored six goals and had three assists for Churchland's soccer team. In golf he was a state tournament qualifier, finishing in a tie for second-place in the Eastern Region.
Smith was picked as the most valuable player on both the girls track and basketball teams at Norcom. She also won the William E. Waters Memorial Award as the Norcom female athlete of the year.
``I'll tell you how important Brandi was to our track team,'' said Norcom girls track coach Vincent Pugh. ``Great Bridge had five players doing the things that Brandi did for us.''
Smith set district records in both outdoor and indoor track in the triple jump, her specialty.
A forward/center in basketball, she was the dominant scorer for the Greyhounds.
Finishing 49th in a class of 232 at Norcom, Smith scored 980 on her SAT. She plans to major in sports medicine.
She likely will focus on hurdling at Virginia Tech. In addition to running track, she hopes to move into another sport. ``I believe I would like to play soccer,'' she said.
Last year's Athletes of the Year were Norcom's LeVar Bowers and Churchland's Summer Speidell.
Runners-up for this year's awards were Churchland's Aaron Bailey and Courtney Hundley. Bailey won all-district honors in baseball and was second-team all-district in football. Hundley was a standout in volleyball and basketball. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Coach of the Year Vincent Pugh of Norcom High congratulates Athletes
of the Year: Churchland's Robert Davis, left, and Norcom's Brandi
Smith, who was on Pugh's girls track team. by CNB